U.S. sailors return to Volvo with Vestas 11th Hour Racing

SAN DIEGO (AP) ― Americans Charlie Enright and Mark Towill are returning to the Volvo Ocean Race with new sponsors and an emphasis on environmental awareness.

The Brown University alumni announced their Vestas 11th Hour Racing team on March 21 in Newport, Rhode Island. It will sail under the Danish and American flags.

Enright and Towill tied for fourth in the last edition of the round-the-world race. They were the first to round Cape Horn and won the final leg in their first foray into the marquee ocean race.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing plans to call attention to renewable energy, the health of the oceans and marine debris.

Vestas, a Danish manufacturer of wind turbines, returns after the boat it sponsored in the last Volvo Ocean Race ran aground on a reef in the Indian Ocean. The boat was salvaged, rebuilt and rejoined the fleet late in the race.

The Volvo Ocean Race begins Oct. 22 from Alicante, Spain and will cover 45,000 nautical miles. It will make 10 stops, including in Newport, before finishing in The Hague. The boats will make a “fly by” of Aarhus, Denmark on the final leg between Gothenburg and The Hague.